West Hill Primary Academy

We celebrate the past; we care about the future

Religious Education

West Hill School’s RE curriculum is based on the Kent LEA’s Agreed Syllabus and it meets all the requirements set out in that document. It reflects the fact that religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, while taking account of the teachings and practices of the other principle religions represented in Great Britain.

Purpose of study

At west Hill we aim to:

Promoting personal respect for pupils’ own world views and those of others

Deepening understanding of their own and other people’s beliefs and opinions

Fostering an enquiring and open mind

Encouraging the confidence to ask ultimate questions

Developing the skills of listening, communicating and empathising

KS1 key skills

Pupils will be taught to:

Use religious words and phrases to identify some features of religion and its importance for some people. They begin to show awareness of similarities in religions. Pupils retell religious stories and suggest meaning for religious actions and symbols. They identify how religion is expressed in different ways.

Ask and respond sensitively to questions about their own and others’ experiences and feelings. They recognise that some questions cause people to wonder and are difficult to answer. In relation to matters of right and wrong, they recognise their own values and those of others.

KS2 Skills

Pupils will be taught to:

Use an increasingly wide religious vocabulary to explain the impact of beliefs on individuals and communities. They describe why people belong to religions. They understand that similarities and differences illustrate distinctive beliefs within and between religions and suggest possible reasons for this. They explain how religious sources are used to provide answers to ultimate questions and ethical issues, recognising diversity in forms of religious, spiritual and moral expression, within and between religions.

Ask and suggest answers to questions of identity, belonging, meaning, purpose and truth, values and commitments, relating them to their own and others’ lives. They explain what inspires and influences them, expressing their own and others’ views on the challenges of belonging to a religion.

Cross Curricular Links

At West Hill we believe that RE links with many other areas of the curriculum as well as developing SMSC education. In English the links are clear with class discussions developing the children’s spoken language. The use of other sources of information and through story telling develops reading and writing skills. In exploring the origins of the different religions aspects of historical events and their effect on society today develop understanding of history. A close link can also be seen with all aspects of PSHE in broadening the children’s understanding and empathy with different belief systems and cultures. In identifying where the religions exist across the World geographical knowledge and understanding is also developed.